Lena Merkt Moves to Under 25 with Pramwaldhof's Bellagio

Dressage

Germany

Reiterjournal reported that former German junior team member Lena Merkt is preparing for her transition to Under 25 level with the newly acquired Bellagio.

Bellagio

Bellagio is a 12-year old Baden Wurttemberger by Bordeaux out of Diva (by De Niro x Disco-Stern). He is bred by Elisabeth Ruetz.

Bellagio began his show career as a 3-year old in 2015 with Nikolaus Kühn and then disappeared from the show scene for seven years. He sold for 20,000 euro at the 2016 DSP Riding Horse Auction "Schmuckstücke" and resurfaced in 2022 under Dorothee Schneider who rode him in two Intermediaire A tests.

Sold to Austrian Astrid Neumayer of Pramwaldhof, Belaggio was then allocated to Matthias Bouten, who competed him at four national shows in Germany at Inter II level. In 2024 the horse made its international show debut at the CDI Stadl Paura, where he got 68.565% in the Grand Prix. They went on to show at the CDI's in Pilisjaszfalu and Brno.

In 2025 the horse moved to British Amy Schiessl, who put Bellagio for sale on Eurodressage's Equimarket. He found a new owner in Lena Merkt. She has moved to Beatrice Hoffrogge's yard to continue her training as an aspiring U25 rider.

Merkt and Sarotti Mocca Sahne

The 21-year old Merkt has aged out of the Young Riders division and retired her career starting horse Sarotti Mocca Sahne, a 16-year old Hanoverian licensed stallion by Soliman de Hus x Lauries Crusador xx x Rotspon.

Bred by Jörg Bätje and initially owned by H.J. Armburst of Gestut Eichengrund, he was first competed by Ole Köhler, then Anna-Maria Köpke and Mike Habermann. In 2014 Helen Langehanenberg got the ride but because she got pregnant, the horse was sent to Franziska Beckmann for training and then to Theresa Eickhorst. At the beginning of 2017 the stallion returned to Helen Langehanenberg for a period, but then went back home. At the end of 2017 Tessa Frank got the ride on the horse.

Sarotti sold to the Merkt family and Lena made her junior level debut on him in 2020. Their international debut followed at the German team selection trial in Hagen in June 2021. They were nominated on the German team for the 2021 European Junior Riders Championships in Oliva Nova, where they won team gold and placed 18th in the individual test. They finished the year at the CDI Aachen Young Stars competition.

A two-year break from CDI showing followed and they returned to the big arena at the 2023 CDI Neu Anspach at Young Riders level. Another 1.5 year break kept them from the international spotlight. Their next and last CDI was the 2024 CDI Aachen Young Stars. In 2025 they rode the Preis der besten in Warendorf as final show, where they finished 9th in the second test.